Even though I swore I wasn’t going to apologize to my brother, I still did. I hated the idea of anything being off between us. Aside from Gran and Gramps, he was all I had in this world, and I needed him on my side.

Jack forgave me easily, telling me that I only pissed him off because I was right and he hadn’t wanted to hear it. I told him that I hoped him and Cassie talked about everything before it happened from now on. He told me to stop being such a know-it-all when I didn’t know shit about being in a relationship. I wanted to argue with him, but he was right.

On Friday afternoon a couple of days later, Jack poked his head into my doorway, his keys in his hand. “Tonight, we’re going to Matt’s place to hang out before the softball game. You in?”

Since the baseball team only had practice this week and no games, Jack had been asked to throw out the first pitch for the school’s softball team. It was good PR, or so he said, so he’d agreed to it.

“Yeah. Should I just meet you there?”

He nodded. “Yeah. I’m going over to Cassie’s now, and then we’ll probably head there together later. I’m trying to convince her to come straight to the game with me, but she keeps telling me no.”

“Sounds like your girlfriend,” I said with a grin. “What time?”

“About six. And that’s good because if she doesn’t come with me, then I want her to be with you, Dean. You understand what I’m saying?” He leaned against my door frame.

“Not really. You want me to babysit your girlfriend?”

“No. I want you to make sure you don’t leave her alone on the walk there. I want to know that if she isn’t with me, she’s with the only other person in the world I trust. Okay?”

I grinned back, happy that he needed me. “Okay. You got it.”

“Good.”

As he turned to go, I asked, “Do you think Melissa will come?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. You should invite her. I’m out,” he said, jangling his keys on his way out the door.

I pulled out my phone and sent Melissa a text.

 

Dean: Come out with us tonight. Please?

Melissa: Can’t. I’m heading home for the weekend. Next time?

Dean: I’m holding you to that.

Melissa: I dare you. :)

 

That girl. She turned me into a sap with a three-word text message. She knew what she did to me, and she toyed with me at every turn.

Damn it, I wished she was going to be in town.

• • •

At Matt’s front door, I could hear the rowdy shouts from inside, so I didn’t bother knocking. I just opened the door and stepped inside Jack’s teammate’s apartment.

“Dean!” the group of five baseball players all shouted at me in unison.

“Dude, where’s your brother?” Matt looked up from the kitchen table where they were playing some sort of drinking game that involved cards.

“Probably with his girlfriend,” I said with a shrug.

“It’s so fucking weird that Jack has a girlfriend. You know that, right?” he asked before downing a shot, his face contorting into a grimace as he gulped it down.

“It was at first,” I said, but it actually wasn’t weird at all anymore. What would be weird would be them not being together. I hated the idea.

“Come play with us,” Ryan insisted as he stared at the cards in his hands.

I moved to a small space at the table as Matt’s girlfriend, Jamie, brought me an extra chair. “Thanks,” I said before she wandered back into the kitchen area.

The guys taught me the basics of the drinking game, mostly telling me that I needed to play to really learn it. I was half terrified I’d be a drunken mess by the time I got the hang of it. As they dealt the next hand, I glanced at my phone and wondered where the hell my brother was.

“President!” Cole slurred from across the table as he slammed down a card.

I had no idea what he was talking about, but I pretended to play along. I wasn’t sure how much time passed before the front door opened and Jack finally walked through it.

“Carter! What’s up, buddy! Hey, Cass,” Matt yelled, his eyes trained on the game.

“Hey, Jack. Hey, Cassie,” Ryan said without looking up from his hand.

“Finally! Where have you two been?” I asked, wondering what had taken them so long.

“Not sure I’ll ever get used to you holding some girl’s hand,” Brett added, his gaze locked on their joined hands.

“Get used to it, BT, she’s not just some girl.” Jack planted a kiss on Cassie’s cheek, and we collectively groaned at them to get a room, and tossed other good-natured insults their way.

Jack asked to be dealt in and the banter continued, the usual guys being guys and teammates giving each other shit because they could. He was lucky to get along with his teammates. I knew quite a few guys who had left the state to play ball and couldn’t stand half of their team. Jack never had that problem. Ever since freshman year, his teammates had welcomed him, and now they were some of his closest friends.

We played a few more hands, and every time I had to drink, I barely sipped my shot. No one else noticed, thank God, otherwise I’d have been too plastered to walk anywhere later, let alone make sure Cassie stayed safe. I had no idea how half these guys still had their eyes open.

When it was time for him to leave, Jack stood up from the table and headed for Cass. What followed was a ridiculous display of affection, including things I wished I could un-see and un-hear.

Once they’d said good-bye, Jack headed for the front door but stopped to address the group. “Make sure she doesn’t walk alone to the game.”

“I don’t need a babysitter,” Cassie said, echoing what I’d said earlier.

Jack frowned and shot a look my way. “Dean?”

“I got her, J. I promise we’ll all go together. She won’t be alone.” I smiled at him and Cassie, hoping to ease his worries.

“See you guys at the game.”

When Jack closed the door behind him, we all turned toward Cassie like vultures.

“What? Don’t look at me, I’m not the crazy one!” she yelled.

“Just so you know, I’ve never seen him act this way about anyone other than Gran,” I told her, hoping she knew that he was just looking out for her. Jack was protective of those he loved and wanted to make sure she stayed safe.

• • •

We wrapped up our drinking game a little while later and left for the softball game. Cassie had her camera with her, something I hadn’t noticed earlier when she first came in.

“Are you taking pictures of Jack tonight?”

“I plan on it,” she said with a smile.

“Cool.”

Matt and Jamie held hands as the seven of us walked in a group toward the far end of campus where the softball field was located. Even though I had no idea what Jack was so concerned about, I wanted to keep my word, so I walked close to Cassie or kept her in view at all times. But then Brett started messing around with me, tapping my shoulder as he ran by, trying to get me to chase him, which I did.

When I realized that Cassie wasn’t next to me anymore, I stopped and turned to see her squatting and removing her lens cap. She waved me ahead, signaling that she wanted to shoot pictures of us, so I rejoined the group and let her go to work. I knew she’d yell at me if I tried to stop her. Photography was as important to her as baseball was to Jack.

Figuring I’d give her something to shoot, I knocked Brett’s hat off his head and he chased me, trying to punch me in the arm as I ducked and weaved around everyone else to avoid his fist. I glanced back to make sure Cassie was getting all of this when I noticed a man standing way too close to her. Cassie’s eyes were huge and she was frozen in place, clutching her camera to her chest.

Shit.

I was too far away to hear what was being said so I walked toward her, wondering what the hell was going on, when I saw her head snap to one side and her hair whip around.

Stunned, I halted in my tracks, unable to believe what I’d just seen.

“That guy just hit Cassie! Hey!” I shouted at Jack’s teammates and started running, not knowing who else was following me, but hoping they all were.

Rushing toward Cassie, I watched helplessly from a distance as the stranger struck her again and she stumbled, knocked off-balance from the force of the punch. My mind spun, not able to comprehend exactly what the hell was happening, but one thing was certain. Jack was going to kill me for letting Cassie get hurt. And I was going to kill this guy for hurting her.

I started sprinting at full speed when the man tore away from her and gunned for me. I came to an abrupt stop, expecting the two of us to collide, but he stopped as well, dangerously close to me. I looked past his shoulder to see Cassie holding her cheek, and furious, I shoved him, wanting to get to her.

“You wanna die?” He was holding something in one hand as he pointed to his hip with the other, which was covered by an oversized shirt. A bulge underneath it looked like it could have been a pistol.

It only took a second of my taking my eyes off him for him to catch me completely off guard. The sound of glass breaking followed by excruciating pain in my head took my breath away. My head snapped back as beer spilled into my eyes, blurring my vision, and my knees buckled. I tried to scream for Cassie to run, but I couldn’t formulate the words as the rest of the world went black.

Blink. Pain.

Blink. Pain.

Blink. Pain.

Dazed, I had the feeling of being dragged along, my feet scraping against the concrete like they no longer worked. It almost felt like I was floating, but the pain that followed felt nothing like floating. It felt like hell.

When I opened my eyes, I realized that I was in someone’s arms. I glanced to my left, my head feeling like it weighed a thousand pounds, to find Brett practically carrying me across campus, his arm looped underneath mine.

I recognized where we were. “Hey,” I croaked out, and he slowed down.

“Thank God. Are you okay?” He glanced at me, his eyes wide and worried.

“My head hurts like hell.” I reached up and pulled my hand away, surprised to see blood wetting my fingertips.

“It was worse before. It’s actually almost stopped,” he said, and I assumed he was referring to the blood.

It was then when I noticed his shirt was stained red down the front. I pointed at it.

“Mine?”

“Yours.” He nodded, pulling the fabric away from his body before letting it go.

“What the hell did he hit me with, anyway?”

“A forty-ounce bottle of beer,” he answered, shaking his head at the memory.

No wonder my head hurts so damn bad.

“Where are we going?”

“To the campus police station,” he said, and it all came back to me in a rush of pain and fury.

“Where’s Cassie? Is she okay? What the fuck, Brett? Where is she? Where’s Cassie?”

I tried to pull out of his grip, desperate to find Jack’s girl, but I was too unsteady. My vision was still a little blurry, and my head pounded with each beat of my heart.

“I don’t know,” he said with a shrug.

That answer couldn’t have been more wrong. I shoved at him, trying to push him off me.

“You don’t know? We have to go back!” I shouted. “We have to fucking go back and get her!”

“Dean?”

I thought I heard Jack’s voice coming from somewhere so I called his name out, although not very loudly in case I was hearing things.

“Dean!”

A figure in the distance sprinted toward us. When he got closer, I could see Jack’s face looked horrified and confused.

“What happened?” he demanded. “Why are you so bloody? Are you okay?”

Jack reached for me, patting me over to see where I’d gotten hurt as he looked around, frantic. Then he froze and said, “Wait. Where’s Cassie?”

I looked into his eyes, terrified that I’d let him down and he’d never forgive me.

“Where’s Cassie, Dean?

“I don’t know,” I admitted. “But you’ve gotta go find her, Jack.”

“What do you mean, you don’t know where she is?” he growled, but more at Brett than at me.

“Dean was unconscious, man. What was I supposed to do?” Brett said, trying to explain.

“Where are you two going?” Jack looked at the two of us as if suddenly realizing that we were walking into campus instead of out of it.

“To the police station,” Brett said before I could.

I grabbed my brother’s arm. “Jack, please go find Cassie. I’ll be fine. Some guy hit her.”

His face turned cold with rage. “What do you mean, some guy hit her?”

“Just go. Ask questions later,” I begged him.

Jack sucked in a sharp breath to calm himself and looked me in the eye, his expression filled with pain. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yes.” But I’ll never forgive myself if Cassie isn’t. “Go find her. I’ll be fine,” I said, and he didn’t hesitate for a second before he took off running.

Brett propped me up as we headed toward the campus police office in the distance, its blue light illuminating the small building. We walked in silence, neither of us knowing what to say.

When we reached the door, Brett pulled it open and shouted, “We need some help out here.”

An older guy came around from behind a door and almost dropped his mug of coffee when he saw us. “Shit. Are you okay? What happened?” He placed the mug on top of the counter and moved around the desk that separated us.

“I think it looks worse than it is,” I said with a smile before wincing from the pain. Even the light in the room hurt; it was too bright, too glaring.

“Sergio, get out here,” the first cop yelled, and another guy appeared, his mouth half-filled with food.

“What the—”

“You boys want to tell us what happened to you tonight? I’m Officer Candalle, by the way, and this is my partner, Officer Santos.”

“I’m Dean, and this is Brett.”

“And you’re both students here at Fullton State?”

“Yes. Mind if I sit?” I motioned toward the uncomfortable-looking metal chair in the corner.

“No, of course. Do you need some ice?” Officer Candalle asked.

I shrugged. “I don’t know.” I honestly had no idea what I needed. All I knew was that my head hurt like a bitch and probably needed stitches. “Maybe some ibuprofen or something for the pain?”

Officer Santos frowned. “We’re not allowed to give you medication. Sorry. Maybe we should get you to the hospital. We can ask you questions from there,” he suggested, but I shook my head.

“Yeah, man, maybe we should get you looked at,” Brett said. I’d almost forgotten he was still there.

“Not yet. I need you guys to catch the piece of shit who hurt my sister,” I blurted without thinking.

Calling Cassie my sister had seemed like the smart thing to do. I knew from watching TV shows that if you weren’t related, people didn’t give you information. She was important to Jack, which meant she was important to me, so I needed to know everything there was to know about her situation.

Santos sat down across from me before giving his partner an order. “Lance, go grab the camera, please.”

“You’re going to record this?” I asked, assuming he was going to film my statement.

“Photograph. It’s standard procedure. We need evidence of all your injuries.” He glanced at Brett. “Do you have any injuries, or is that blood all his?”

Brett shook his head. “It’s all his.”

“We’ll still photograph your shirt,” he said as Officer Candalle came back carrying a digital camera similar to Cassie’s.

“Can you point out your injuries?” he asked, and when I pointed to the top of my head, he snapped a few photos.

He studied me, his eyes narrowed slightly. “Does your face hurt at all anywhere?”

“No, why?” I looked at Brett, wondering why he was asking.

Candalle shook his head. “Nothing major. Just a few superficial cuts. Can you tell us what happened while we take the rest of the pictures?”

He snapped away, taking pictures of my head, my face, and Brett’s shirt, while Santos typed quickly on his laptop.

“We were walking toward campus,” I said, “on our way to the softball fields, when some guy came out of nowhere and attacked my sister. She was behind us, so no one noticed at first.”

I felt light-headed, so I put my head between my legs for a moment. The room was quiet, and the officers waited patiently until I could continue.

“When I turned around, I saw her head fly to the side. He’d hit her. We all started running back for her at that point, but he hit her again. Then the next thing I remember was the guy telling me he had a gun, asking me if I wanted to die, and then I woke up with Brett carrying me across campus. But I’m sure more happened after I passed out. You have to ask my sister.”

“Can you describe the assailant?” Santos asked, still typing.

“He was about five foot eleven, but skinny. Looked like he weighed maybe a buck fifty, not muscular in build, but quick. He was damn fast on his feet,” I said, searching my mind for other details. “Oh, he had dark blond hair that went to his shoulders. It was stringy, and looked dirty. That’s all I remember.”

Candalle nodded and set aside the camera. “That’s great, really helpful. Anything else you can think of? Did he have any distinguishing marks that you can remember? Any tattoos? Scars?”

“Not that I recall,” I said, feeling like a failure.

“What about you, Brett. Did you get a good look at him?”

Brett shifted on his feet. “I didn’t, actually. I just saw Dean fall to the ground, and I knew I needed to get him out of the situation.”

Santos rose to his feet and came over to where I sat. “I’m not a doctor, but I did have some medical training. Do you want me to look at your head?”

“Please,” I said, and relaxed a little with relief.

He dug around in his desk and found a pair of latex gloves. Once he’d snapped them on, he leaned forward and gently moved sections of my hair aside to check my scalp. As he did, small shards of brown glass fell to the floor.

“It looks nasty, but it’s already stopped bleeding for the most part. I don’t think you need stitches, but keep an eye on it. I’m not a doctor, so I’d advise you to stop by the ER or urgent care and get it checked out.”

“Understood. Thank you, though,” I said.

As he pulled off his gloves and tossed them into the trash can, I closed my eyes for a second, wishing I had something for the pain. My head hurt like a bitch.

“You mentioned your sister. Where is she now?” Candalle asked, and I shifted in my seat.

“I don’t know. I hope she’s home by now, but I don’t know.”

“Can you find out? And what’s your full name and hers?”

I nodded, reaching for the cell phone in my pocket. “Dean Carter and Cassie Andrews,” I said as I called my brother’s number and held the phone away from my ear as it rang.

“Dean,” Jack said, sounding relieved when he answered the phone.

“Hey. Do you have her? Is she okay?” I asked, trying not to sound as frantic as I felt.

Candalle leaned closer to listen.

“We’re at her apartment. I was going to help her clean up her face,” Jack started to say, and Candalle overheard and lifted a hand in the air.

“Don’t let him clean off her injuries,” he said in a hushed tone. “We need to photograph them too and get a statement.”

I nodded and told Jack what the office had said.

“Okay. Are they coming now?”

I looked up at the officers and they both nodded. “Yeah, they’re on their way.”

Ending the call, I closed my eyes, willing the pain to subside, but knowing it never would on its own.

Brett stood up and said to the officers, “Do you think you could give us a ride to my car and then I’ll take Dean home?”

Santos nodded. “Of course, no problem. Dean, can you give us your phone number so we can get in touch with you if we have any more questions?”

I rattled off my number before pushing up from the chair. Much to my annoyance, I was still a bit wobbly on my feet.

“I got you.” Brett came over and reached out to brace me once more.

“Can you give us the address where your sister is?”

“Shit,” I said before pulling out my phone again and texting Jack. He responded within seconds, and I gave the cops the information as we made our way to the back of the small station house.

Buckled into the backseat of the police car, I remembered that Melissa was out of town and would have no idea what had happened. I didn’t know why she popped into my head when she did, but I fired off a text message to give her the CliffsNotes version of what happened tonight, and suggested that she check on her best friend.

My phone immediately rang and Melissa’s name flashed on the screen.

“Dean? Are you okay? What happened exactly? Where’s Cassie? And Jack?”

Her voice was shrill, the pitch so high I couldn’t handle it at the moment. “I can’t talk right now, I’m sorry. My head hurts.”

“Okay, okay, I understand. I wish I was there.”

“I’m glad you weren’t,” I admitted, thankful that she hadn’t been around tonight because she might have gotten hurt as well. The very thought made me sick.

“I’m going to check on Cassie. I’ll see you soon. Call me if you need anything, okay?”

I promised her that I would, and put my phone in my pocket. My head continued to pound. The officers dropped us off in front of Matt’s apartment, and Brett and I climbed out of the car.

After we thanked the officers for the ride, they assured me that they’d be in touch.

Brett motioned toward the stairs. “Do you want to come up first? I’m sure Matt has some aspirin or something for your head.”

“Yeah. Do you think they’re even here?” I hadn’t thought about anyone other than Cassie for what felt like hours, but was more like a handful of minutes.

“They’re here,” he said with a grimace. “They’ve been blowing up my phone.”

We walked slowly, Brett still helping me keep my balance as we navigated the stairs. When he raised his hand to knock on Matt’s door, I reached for my head.

“Please don’t.”

“Shit. Sorry,” he said before turning the knob and pushing the door open.

Matt and Jamie jumped to their feet and rushed toward us. “Fuck, man,” Matt said, “we’ve been so worried.”

I tried to wave them off, but they took me out of Brett’s care, each holding one of my arms.

“Seeing you collapse like that was some scary shit, man,” Matt said, which made me think about what it must have looked like from their perspective. “Are you okay?” he asked as they helped me toward their couch.

“My head is killing me. It feels like it’s murdering me with every breath I take. Please tell me you have some ibuprofen or something for this pain.”

Jamie headed for the kitchen and called over her shoulder, “I’ll go get you some. Anything else?”

“Just the ibuprofen. And water. Please.”

I leaned my head back against the couch and closed my eyes, begging for a reprieve from the pain, but all I saw was a different kind of pain. Cassie getting hit, and me running toward her. My eyes shot open to stop seeing the image of her like that, and Jamie was there, holding an Advil bottle and a water.

“Your hair.” She studied me and sucked in a breath through clenched teeth.

“That bad?” I had no idea what I looked like, and wasn’t looking forward to getting in front of a mirror.

“It’s pretty matted,” she said, frowning. “Is Cassie okay? Have you talked to her?”

“I talked to Jack. He’s with her now.”

“Oh, good. I bet he’s pissed, though,” she said before looking at Matt and Brett.

Matt winced. “I’m sure we’ll get an earful the next time we see him.”

“Speaking of, I need to call him before we leave.”

I pulled out my phone and glanced at Brett, who stood next to the couch, refusing to sit down in case the blood transferred from his shirt and stained the furniture. I hadn’t been as thoughtful.

“Where are you?” Jack said instead of saying hello.

“At Matt’s. Are you staying at Cassie’s tonight?” I asked, already assuming the answer.

“Yeah.”

“Can I stay there too?”

“Hold on.” He covered the phone, muting his voice for a moment. “She says it’s fine.”

“Okay, cool. Do you guys need anything?”

“I don’t think so. Hold on, I’ll double-check.” He covered the phone once more before saying, “She says no.”

“Do you think Cassie will care if I stay there all weekend?”

The last thing I wanted was to give Gran and Gramps something extra to worry about. If I looked as bad as Jamie seemed to think I did, I could only imagine how Gran would react when she saw me.

No, it was best to lay low for a couple of days until I could pass muster.

“She won’t care,” Jack said. “But make sure Gran knows we’re both staying here before you leave.”

“I’ll talk to her.”

“Okay. See you soon.”

I put away my phone and moved to stand up. “I’m ready,” I said to Brett, and then looked at Jamie. “Thanks so much for the aspirin and water.”

“Of course. Feel better, and tell Cassie to call me, okay?” she said before giving me a cautious hug.

“I will. See you later, Matt. Sorry about the couch.” I glanced at it and grimaced at the small dots of blood I’d left behind.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, waving me off. “Drive safe.”